In Praise of the Russian Left-Back

Marco Silva confirms Nikola Vlasic could return after Russian stint

Marco Silva has confirmed that Nikola Vlasic could have a future with Everton once he returns from his season-long loan with Russian giants Spartak Moscow. The 21-year-old joined the Toffees from Hajduk Split during the summer of 2017 but he did not have the best of debut seasons as he managed just 11 matches under three different managers.

With the appointment of Silva, Vlasic was offered a temporary switch to Russia as he could not assure him of regular gametime and the Croatian has certainly taken the opportunity with both hands with a flourishing start to the season which has included a Champions League winner against Real Madrid.

Speaking to reporters, Silva said that there is every possibility of the attacker making a name for himself with the Toffees once he returns from the temporary stint, he said: “It’s possible. Me and him, when we spoke, he needed time to play. He could return to our club. He is playing well. We will follow him and take that decision. He is playing well and that is important because he is our player.”
Everton have witnessed a mixed start to the current season with just three wins from their opening eight league matches and during this period, they have also been ousted from the League Cup by Southampton. Nonetheless, there have been positives with the form of Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson and they will be hoping for the recent good form to continue following the international break.

The Merseyside outfit are currently 11th on the standings with 12 points already on the board. They have had issues with injuries during the opening two months of the campaign but Silva has recently cited that the likes of Yerry Mina and Andre Gomes should come into contention for the next Premier League fixture versus Crystal Palace.